‘Project Runway’ Season 11 Premiere Recap: ‘There Is No I In Team’

Season eleven of Lifetime’s Project Runway began with a bang as sixteen designers met at the runway to be greeted by Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn, whom we’ve all missed dearly. Can we agree that things just aren’t the same during All Stars seasons? Klum had a special surprise for these designers in the form of their worst nightmare: the entire season will be a team challenge!

They were split into two teams. The first team called themselves ‘Keeping It Real’ and consisted of Stanley
Kate, Layana, Patricia, Daniel, Richard, Amanda, and Joseph. The second team called themselves ‘Dream Team’ and had designers Benjamin, Emily, Cindy, Michelle, James, Tu, Matthew, and Samantha. So who are these crazy people?

Stanley was put together and adorable. Apparently he almost entered a religious seminary, but was freaked out when his leaders tried to pray his fabulous gay away. Now he is dedicated to fashion with his aesthetic focusing on pristine, high fashion looks.

Kate was a little neurotic, which I’m sure the producers just love. She has a bridal business and likes to stroke her own ego. She described herself as a crazy chihuahua. Layana was sweet and adorable. Originally from Brazil, she loves looks which compliment a woman’s body and are simple and easy to wear. Patricia is really unique and really showed off her native american heritage. She loves to design her own textiles and take risks.

Daniel has an epic mustache and a penchant for the fabulous. His designs are also very high fashion and meticulous. Richard was hilarious in that he really loves himself, has his own custom made hangers and label for his clothing and loves the glamorous side of life. Amanda is the sister of a member of Maroon 5, which is pretty random. She doesn’t want to work in teams, but seems to warm up to the idea when she is placed on a great one. Joseph is very avante gard and whacky, designing with bright colors and crazy patterns.

Benjamin Mach is from Australia and Mondo really loved him, calling him ‘Mach Daddy’. He seems very talented and has great direction. Emily has great aesthetic, but kept bragging about how much better she is than the other designers and how she planned on winning. This proved rather tragic later on. Cindy owns a funeral home and a massive home in Washington state. She recently graduated from design school and was excited to get her business going. Michelle is super adorable and apparently walked straight onto PR from the Portlandia set. She screams hipster, edgy fashion and has a knack for uniqueness.

James’ casting video showed him claiming to design for chihuahuas and shitzus or even a new American flag if need be. Tu was a Buddhist monk in Thailand before leaving to pursue fashion and dance fabulously. Matthew is from New Orleans and loves designing around the party scene. Some of his example pieces during casting featured IV tubing and a heroin spoon necklace. Samantha is from Brooklyn and loves to create colorful, edgy pieces that make a woman feel powerful.

Keeping It Real is getting along fabulously. Tim Gunn allows the team members to critique along with him and it proves rather interesting. Each of them seem to help one another make wise choices and work together. Daniel creates an insane looking structured jacket and slacks that looks like it walked off the Paris fashion week runway, although Michelle claims that it’s been done too many times before.

The Dream Team begins to struggle when they realize that Emily hasn’t planned her design well with the time constraints. No one wants to help her, not realizing that it will affect the entire team. Cindy offers to help Emily complete a really shitty bolero jacket over a terrible halter top and skirt.

This season Michael Kors is MIA and has been replaced with the absolutely handsome and adorable designer Zac Posen. Guest judge this week was Christian Siriano, a previous PR winner.

Designers that really stood out were Benjamin, Matthew, Daniel, Patricia, and Richard. Daniel won the challenge with Patricia and Richard in close second and third places. Those in trouble were James, Emily, and Cindy. James’ blouse and color blocked pencil skirt bored the judges. Cindy’s dress had mixed patterns and although it was long to show off her print, the judges hated the design and Heidi said it reminded her of the 90′s. However, Emily really bombed it by barely putting anything on the runway. This after her team came to her rescue as she had nothing earlier that morning.

Lesson learned people. Do not brag until you can put your money where your mouth is. I definitely felt badly for Emily after she had to do the walk of shame. It was the worst first oust in PR history.

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I agree things are not the same during All Star seasons; I’m so glad to have Heidi and Tim back! The first episode was interesting, and I’m glad I rushed home after my shift ended at DISH to watch it. Normally for me, a Thursday night would involve a battle between me and my husband over the television. To resolve this, we bought a DISH Hopper Whole-Home HD DVR; with it we can watch 4 different HD programs at the same time on different televisions. Now we watch our favorite shows in peace.